Trustees vote to buy land for new Dorman

Published: Tuesday, January 6, 1998 at 3:15 a.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, January 6, 1998 at 12:00 a.m.

It's hard to say no to a good deal.

At least that's what the Spartanburg School District 6 Board of Trustees decided Monday when they bought 292 acres between Roebuck and Moore for $2.4 million.

With easy access to I-26 and Highway 221, as well as plenty of room to handle a booming student population, the trustees purchased the land with the long-term goal of moving Dorman High School there. The trustees unanimously approved the deal. Evelyn Young and Cullen Reed bought the property in 1995 at a cost of $1.15 million. Woody Willard, a Spartanburg real estate appraiser, said last year that the school district is getting a good deal on the land because industrial land typically sells for between $25,000 and $45,000 an acre. Young and Reed are charging about $8,200 an acre for the heavily wooded lot. Two potential obstacles to building a high school on the property were addressed Monday night. Duke Power, which owns an electrical line that slices the property in half, has agreed to sell an easement to School District 6. That agreement will allow the school district to construct roads underneath the power lines, but no permanent buildings. Also, district business manager Gary Blackwell said the status of wetlands on the property won't be resolved for another six months, but an agreement in principle has been reached with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The school district will likely be allowed to build on the wetlands in exchange for the district's protection of wetlands elsewhere, he said. Other agencies -- the state's Education and Transportation departments -- have already given School District 6 the green light on the project. During Monday's board meeting, trustees were shown a model of how a high school campus would look on the site. In the architectural plans, Dorman's ninth-graders would be separated into another school on the campus; a football stadium would be constructed in a natural ravine; and the high school classrooms would consist of several two-story buildings. "The school will have more of a campus feel, with plenty of landscaping," said Christopher Voso, the lead architect on the project. Faculty and administration will be consulted before any definite plans are drawn or any bids for land grading or construction are mailed, said board Chairman Lynn Harris. A new high school is projected to cost about $42 million and would be paid for by borrowing money. It will be built in phases, according to the initial plans. Grading the land won't begin until next year at the earliest, according to an early study of the school. The district initially looked into moving Dorman's campus because it is bursting at the seams with students and has little room to grow on W.O. Ezell Boulevard near WestGate Mall. Dorman, which serves about 2,500 students, is one of South Carolina's biggest high schools. The trustees also expressed interest in moving the high school to situate it in a more central location. Dorman is now located at the top end of School District 6, but the land purchased Monday is in the middle of the district. Last year, the school district rejected a proposal from local textile magnate Jimmy Gibbs to buy Dorman's campus for $4.68 million and the offer to purchase land for a new school. The district said no to Gibbs' offer because he could not give them enough time to vacate the Dorman campus. No members of the public were present at Monday's meeting to protest the purchase of the land. But some School District 6 residents think the high school should stay where it is. Lisa Perry, whose children attend West View Elementary, R.P. Dawkins Middle and Dorman High schools, thinks moving the high school south will inconvenience many people. "We moved to the northern end of the district to be closer to the school," Perry said.

<p> It's hard to say no to a good deal.</p><p>At least that's what the Spartanburg School District 6 Board of Trustees decided Monday when they bought 292 acres between Roebuck and Moore for $2.4 million.</p><p>With easy access to I-26 and Highway 221, as well as plenty of room to handle a booming student population, the trustees purchased the land with the long-term goal of moving Dorman High School there. The trustees unanimously approved the deal. Evelyn Young and Cullen Reed bought the property in 1995 at a cost of $1.15 million. Woody Willard, a Spartanburg real estate appraiser, said last year that the school district is getting a good deal on the land because industrial land typically sells for between $25,000 and $45,000 an acre. Young and Reed are charging about $8,200 an acre for the heavily wooded lot. Two potential obstacles to building a high school on the property were addressed Monday night. Duke Power, which owns an electrical line that slices the property in half, has agreed to sell an easement to School District 6. That agreement will allow the school district to construct roads underneath the power lines, but no permanent buildings. Also, district business manager Gary Blackwell said the status of wetlands on the property won't be resolved for another six months, but an agreement in principle has been reached with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The school district will likely be allowed to build on the wetlands in exchange for the district's protection of wetlands elsewhere, he said. Other agencies -- the state's Education and Transportation departments -- have already given School District 6 the green light on the project. During Monday's board meeting, trustees were shown a model of how a high school campus would look on the site. In the architectural plans, Dorman's ninth-graders would be separated into another school on the campus; a football stadium would be constructed in a natural ravine; and the high school classrooms would consist of several two-story buildings. "The school will have more of a campus feel, with plenty of landscaping," said Christopher Voso, the lead architect on the project. Faculty and administration will be consulted before any definite plans are drawn or any bids for land grading or construction are mailed, said board Chairman Lynn Harris. A new high school is projected to cost about $42 million and would be paid for by borrowing money. It will be built in phases, according to the initial plans. Grading the land won't begin until next year at the earliest, according to an early study of the school. The district initially looked into moving Dorman's campus because it is bursting at the seams with students and has little room to grow on W.O. Ezell Boulevard near WestGate Mall. Dorman, which serves about 2,500 students, is one of South Carolina's biggest high schools. The trustees also expressed interest in moving the high school to situate it in a more central location. Dorman is now located at the top end of School District 6, but the land purchased Monday is in the middle of the district. Last year, the school district rejected a proposal from local textile magnate Jimmy Gibbs to buy Dorman's campus for $4.68 million and the offer to purchase land for a new school. The district said no to Gibbs' offer because he could not give them enough time to vacate the Dorman campus. No members of the public were present at Monday's meeting to protest the purchase of the land. But some School District 6 residents think the high school should stay where it is. Lisa Perry, whose children attend West View Elementary, R.P. Dawkins Middle and Dorman High schools, thinks moving the high school south will inconvenience many people. "We moved to the northern end of the district to be closer to the school," Perry said.</p>